The present invention relates generally to an air intake manifold washer which cleans an air intake manifold immersed in a water tight chamber by creating turbulence in the water in the chamber with impellers and producing compressed air bubbles to clean and remove impurities from the air intake manifold.
An air intake manifold brings air into an internal combustion engine at the required temperature and velocity. Air intake manifolds are commonly molded through a lost core process. A core of the manifold is first formed of metal. The metal core is then over-molded with plastic and immersed in a hot lutron bath of glycolitin oil. As the metal core has a lower melting temperature than the plastic over-mold, the metal core melts, resulting in the plastic air intake manifold.
After melting the metal core, the plastic air intake manifold is cleaned to remove any dirt and impurities on the surface of the manifold. In prior cleaning methods, the plastic manifold is cleaned by a series of water jets which spray on the manifold as it travels along a conveyer belt.
There are several drawbacks to prior air intake manifold cleaners. For one, as the manifold travels down the conveyer and is sprayed with water in several stages, the washer occupies a large amount of space and water usage is not optimized. Additionally, as water jets can only be aimed at external locations of the manifold, hidden internal areas which are difficult to reach are not cleaned well or not cleaned uniformly, and a secondary manual wash operation is often needed. Finally, after the washing process is complete, the water flows off of the surface of the manifold by gravity, and any water that does not flow off of the manifold can settle on the surface, leaving impurities on the manifold.
Hence, there is a need in the art for an improved washer used for cleaning an air intake manifold.
The present invention relates generally to a washer used to clean a lost core manifold article and most preferably an air intake manifold.
A plastic air intake manifold formed by a lost core process is cleaned by the washer of the present invention. The manifold is positioned on a fixture in a water tight chamber and a chamber lid is closed. The chamber is then filled with water entering from a water inlet, completely immersing the manifold in the water. A solenoid valve controls the flow of the water through the water inlet. Impellers positioned in the chamber are turned on one at a time to create turbulence in the water to clean off oil and impurities on the surface of the manifold.
Air jets are then activated in the washer to produce air bubbles in the water. The air bubbles act abrasively on the manifold, further cleaning the manifold by removing oil and impurities remaining on the surface of the manifold. After the oil and impurities are removed from the manifold and enter the water, the water is immediately removed from the chamber through a water outlet by fast and high power suction. The water outlet is controlled by a solenoid valve. Because the water is removed quickly, the opportunity for oil impurities to adhere back to the manifold is minimized.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a washer utilized for cleaning an air intake manifold.
These and other features of the present invention will be best understood from the following specification and drawings.